A Strange and Bitter Magic
by ShadowkittenMF
Summary: A story of returns and reunions and loves expected and unexpected. Nine years after Sayaka's disapperance, Shizuki Hitomi returns to Mitakihara City. Mature characters and situations. Romantic situations straight and otherwise. Spoliers for the series, movies, and manga.
1. Homecoming

_Author's note_: I don't own Puella Magi Madoka Magica, nor any of the characters from same. This story contains misc. spoilers for the series/first two movies, the various manga to some degree, and potential spoilers for the Rebellion Story movie.

It takes as canon the original anime, and select elements from the movies and manga, but is generally to be considered AU.

Please note that this story includes original characters, and fleshes out several canon characters beyond the very slight information and characterization they were given originally.

This story, as it progresses, will include adult language and situations, and potentially violence to the level of the original series. This story will contain both straight and lesbian romantic/sexual themes, so be aware of this if one or both offends or annoys.

Please enjoy, and feel free to leave comments and reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Homecoming._

On an overnight bullet train that sped northeast from Tokyo out across the Japanese landscape bound for the shining gem of chrome and glass called Mitakihara, a young woman napped. Her eyes closed, her mint-green hair spilling with careless grace down her shoulders, she was the image of quiet, composed dignity. Her clothing was casual: blue-jeans, a light blue t-shirt, and comfortable sneakers. She wore a silver pendant adorned with a sparkling emerald on a thin silver chain. On the ring finger of her left hand, she wore a simple gold band.

Shizuki Hitomi stirred, as the train jolted over a section of track. Her eyes opened, a brilliant piercing green. She blinked, and yawned. She turned to the seat beside her, upon which sat a messenger-bag. She patted the bag with her left hand, as though to reassure herself everything were still in place. She glanced above her head, to where her suitcase sat. Of course without standing she was unable to see any more than the handle, and yet somehow this was enough to reassure her that all was well.

She yawned again, and shrugged backward into her seat, closing her eyes.

"Ma'am?"

She opened her eyes with far more grace than she felt. A young woman in a blue and white uniform stood there, regarding her with a faintly amused expression.

"Yes?"

"We're almost to Mitakihara City Center."

"Ahhh, I see. Thank you."

The attendant smiled and nodded, before walking on. The seated woman sighed, and closed her bag. She glanced out the window. The shining silver ribbon of the Mitakihara River sparkled in the morning sunlight. She yawned again, and stretched.

"Attention please, attention please. The train will be stopping momentarily in Mitakihara City Center. All passengers intending to travel on to Asunaro City and Kazamino City be advised that you will be required to transfer at this stop. Again, we will be stopping shortly in Mitakihara City Center."

Hitomi watched out the window, as countryside abruptly gave way to city. The low, old stone and concrete buildings from the last century flew past first, then the gradually taller metal and glass skyscrapers, then the towering, twisting spires built in the last two decades.

The train glided into the oval dome of Mitakihara City Center, a large oval, green as sunlight reflected off the multifaceted chrome tiles of it's surface.

Hitomi was one of two dozen to exit the train. The platform was paved with alternating white and black tiles of dingy faux-marble. A colorful message-board flashed the arrivals and departures of local and long-distance trains, interspersed with advertisements and public service messages ("Please, for your safety and comfort, remain behind the glowing yellow line until the train that you intend to board comes to a complete stop"). On either side were metal benches.

Three or four others had exited the train at the same time. They herded to the down staircase in the middle of the platform beside a white support column reminiscent of a Greek column.

She moved to a bench beside the message board, and set her suitcase on it. She retrieved her mobile from her bag.

She typed into the phone.

_Here._

_Father: Sent a car._

She frowned.

_Fine. See you._

Hitomi sighed, and suppressed a yawn, before picking up her suitcase. Down the stairs. Through a black-and-white checkerboard corridor, to an escalator trundling up. Black and white tiles lined the walls and vaulted ceiling. Placards shone here: moving advertisements for shampoos and luxury soap. She turned idly to watch one she had just passed. It was now advertising men's cologne.

In the parking lot, a black Mercedes CL 750 sat in the closest possible parking space to the main entrance to the station. An older gentleman, perhaps in his middle sixties, stood leaning against the car. He wore a black suit and tie, white gloves, and a black bowler hat from which sparse grey hairs straggled.. His dark, leathery face was clean-shaven. His pale blue eyes sparkled as his face stretched into a grin.

"Hitomi-sama. Welcome home."

"Thank you, Nakazawa-san."

The old man nodded, and opened the trunk of the car. Hitomi deposited her suitcase, and then walked around to the left side of the car. Nakazawa opened the front passenger door, and Hitomi slid in. He closed the door after her, and got into the driver seat.

"Well. At least father had the decency to send the Mercedes. "

"Yes ma'am."

"Business meeting, I take it? Was he called away to Hong Kong?"

"He had a matter of vital importance to attend to."

"I see. More important than welcoming his eldest daughter home from university?"

"Of ... equal import."

Hitomi watched as the old man's grin widened.

"Nakazawa-san, may I recommend you never play poker."

"Ma'am, gambling debts are precisely why I hold the job that I do."

Hitomi shook her head.

"Please ma'am, try to act surprised."

"Of course."

* * *

The mid-week traffic was as thick as Hitomi remembered it. The Mercedes was comfortable enough that she didn't mind the wait, and powerful enough to make up the lost time once it reached the open road. Even as she looked up at the looming twin spiral of Shizuki Tower, the car roared to life and accelerated out of the realm of glass and steel and into the softer and quieter world of marble and brick.

She smiled as she saw her house. The home she had grown up in. It wasn't a mansion. Not because the Shizuki family couldn't afford it. They could afford to buy just about any building they cared to own, and had done so many times. But, the house she grew up in, where her father had grown up before her, was a two-story house with a basement and an attic, built on a western pattern. It was cozy, rustic, with wood paneling, white-paned windows, and a white door with a transom window.

This simple house sat behind a low stone wall, with an automatic gate. A generous lawn spread out around the building, and cobblestone walkways led to a garden with a white gazebo, and a pool, and a small but elegant, traditional tea building.

The car pulled into the driveway as the gate opened. Nakazawa stopped, and opened the door for Hitomi.

"I will see to your baggage," he said.

"Thank you."

As he opened the trunk of the car, she walked up to the main door. She pulled it open and stepped into the entryway. Hitomi slipped off her sneakers, and placed them on a wooden double-deck shoe rack.

"I'm home," she called out.

She stepped up the small lip into the central hallway. A table with several stacks of books was on her left hand side, just past the door to the parlor. On the right hand side, beside the door to the living-room, was a padded wooden bench underneath a painting of Mount Fuji. A Dutch door separated the entry portion of the hallway from stairs up, and further doors into the kitchen and study.

"In here dear," her mother answered from the living room.

She took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped through.

_"Surprise!"_

Her father Kiichirou, mother Yuuko, little sister Mai, and Aunt Ryouko were all within, all happy smiles. Her father held a bottle of Champagne, and Mai held a somewhat smaller bottle of sparkling apple juice.

"Shizuki Hitomi. Graceful. Beautiful. Adept in the fine womanly arts of dance and singing, piano, and calligraphy, graduate of the University of Tokyo with a degree in economics, equally the master of the harsh art of debate and leadership and business. And my own dear, eldest daughter. Welcome home."

He was in his late fifties. He had been in his thirties when his father died, and he took over the company. Hard work, a desire to be the best, and an unflinching willingness to do anything necessary to further his ends, and those of his company (short of illegal activity, of course) had made him the richest, and perhaps most powerful, man in the city.

"Thank you, father."

"Nakazawa-san spoilt the surprise, didn't he," Yuuko grinned.

She was nearly 15 years his junior, a still beautiful woman in her early 40s. Her green hair and eyes matched Hitomi's.

"I did not, ma'am," the old gentleman replied, standing behind Hitomi with her bag in one hand.

"Then you guessed, didn't you dear?"

Hitomi grinned, and shook her head.

"I am utterly surprised."

Kiichirou chuckled.

"Now dear, you know perfectly well the Shizuki family stoicism."

Yuuko rolled her eyes, and crossed the distance to embrace her daughter.

"Well, welcome home in any case, dear. Lunch will be ready soon. Speaking of which, excuse me, I fear something is burning."

Hitomi smiled.

"Mother you haven't burnt a meal in twenty years."

"Lies, if diplomatic lies," she laughed, retreating through the door into the dining room and kitchen.

There was a sofa here, two puffy lounge chairs, and a coffee table. The coffee table held six Champagne flutes. A large flatscreen TV was here as well, though currently this was off, and ignored. A fireplace on the inner wall was largely for show, yet added an additional elegance to the room.

"Heya Hitomi. Nice to see you again."

"Hello Ryouko. I _am_ surprised to see you here."

She was around the same age as Yuuko, her sister. Her skin was ruddy, her shoulder-length hair, once every bit as luxuriant green as that of her sister and niece, was grey and frazzled. Crow's feet marked the sides of her eyes, and smile-lines her cheeks.

"Pfeh. You know Hokkaido has an airport or two, right? It's not just mountains and farms."

"Is that so," Hitomi said with mock surprise, and a grin.

Ryouko laughed.

"Yeah. Heck, you gotta come up some time. I've added a few rooms to my house since you were last up there."

Hitomi smiled.

"Well, I will remember the offer."

Kiichirou opened the bottle of Champagne, and began pouring it into five of the flutes. Ryouko wasted no time in grabbing one. Mai, grinning proudly, opened her bottle on her own, and poured juice into the sixth glass.

Hitomi's father handed her a glass as well, and placed an arm across her shoulders.

"Well, congratulations as well on the job. Remember, no matter what happens there, you have a position available at Shizuki Corporation."

He gestured to the sofa, and the two sat down.

"It's like you told me though, father. To truly earn my future position as owner and CEO, I need to get my hands dirty."

Kiichirou frowned.

"You think I'd go easy on you, just because you're my daughter?"

"Just the opposite, actually. I know how hard you pushed me when I was a child. You never let me give up, barely even let me catch my breath."

He grinned.

"It's made you a proper woman, Hitomi. Not just a girl who will be a trophy-wife ..."

Yuuko, who chose that moment to return from the kitchen, cleared her throat. Kiichirou glared in her direction.

"You are no trophy wife, my dear."

"I should _hope_ not."

"In any case. It is the 21st century. We live in Japan and I believe, and I instilled the belief in you as well, that our culture is vital, and to be celebrated. However, it's far past the time that a woman should live only to serve her husband."

"But to serve the Nation, and the Company."

Kiichirou nodded, his expression serious.

"Just so."

Hitomi smiled.

"I intend to do just that. Besides, Shigou Industries is hardly your competition. Shizuki Corporation holds a considerable share."

"More than that. The _shi_ in common is hardly a coincidence, after all."

"Onee-chan!"

Mai had an impatient edge to her voice. She was six years old, with short, pale green hair in tight ringlets. She was truly a handful.

When Hitomi had learned that her mother was pregnant she had been surprised. That was when she was already a second year high school student. Considering her parents' age, she had expected to remain an only child.

"Yes, Mai-chan, I didn't forget about you!"

"I hope not! I never get to see you, and now I gotta go to school too, so we'll _never _have a chance to play!"

Hitomi cleared her throat.

"Mai-chan. You are six now. You are a big girl, and it is time to act appropriately. When I was your age, I was already learning to cook, and prepare tea, and behave like a proper lady."

"Boo," Mai pouted.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow.

"Ahh, c'mon kiddo. Your sister's a boring old lady now, just like her mother. I'll still play with ya, though."

Yuuko, Hitomi, and Nakazawa-san all glanced icily in Ryouko's direction, but Mai giggled.

* * *

Shigou Industries' corporate headquarters was in a one hundred story, art-deco styled building constructed of steel and granite and glass. Far from being the tallest in Mitakihara, let alone the world, it stood out solid and conservative amongst the twisting, fragile, glass and metal spires towering precariously overhead. It was however no older than the other buildings around it: defiant, reactionary, it sought to anchor flighty, futurist Mitakihara in the realities of a solid and practical world.

Hitomi never felt at ease in its shadow.

The interior was as modern and as showy as the exterior was drab and practical. The entry hallway was black-and-white checkerboard marble floor, chrome and neon sculpture purporting to be a dragon, souvenir shop, music shop, clothing shop ...

None of this interested her. Not right now, any way. She walked past the modernity, to the core of the building. To the elevators. She saw, not to her surprise, that she wasn't the first to arrive. Standing in front of a display screen noting the location and disposition of each of the 60 elevators was a woman just shorter than Hitomi, but evidently about the same age.

She had shoulder-length black hair, and silver-rimmed glasses. She wore a severe black formal jacket, white blouse, black tie, and knee-length black skirt. Black tights and high-heeled shoes completed the look.

Hitomi walked over to her, and the woman turned to look.

Her eyes were brilliant, piercing violet.

A shiver went up Hitomi's spine.

"Umm. Good morning."

The other girl nodded.

"I apologize if this seems forward, but ... have we met before? Something about you seems familiar."

The woman smiled.

"Indeed we have, Shizuki Hitomi."

Hitomi blinked. The voice ...

"Akemi Homura?!"

"I am flattered that you remember me."

"I do! My, what a coincidence though. Akemi-san, how long has it been? Since high school, yes?"

"That is so. As friends do, we made promises at graduation to keep in touch. As friends do, we failed to keep those promises."

Hitomi shrugged awkwardly.

"I suppose that is mostly my fault."

"That hardly matters. So you have chosen Shigau Industries, over Shizuki Corporation. I must confess, that does not surprise me."

"Oh?"

"While you were always a practical girl, you were also eager to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. Nepotism is hardly proper after all."

A white light blinked on above an elevator door with a ping. The door opened. Hitomi and Homura stepped inside. The doors closed.

"So. Hope it isn't too forward for me to say, Akemi-san, but you are looking good."

"Thank you."

"I mean it. I always thought your hair was beautiful, but too difficult to manage. It looks really nice now that it's shorter. Also, I think you look better with glasses. And, at the risk of offending, the red ribbon that you always wore in your hair ... did you no favors."

"Well, the ribbons have sentimental value, and more."

"Oh. Apologies."

"No, I am not offended. They always did look better, worn by the girl that gave them to me."

There was an awkward silence.

"So ... you are single, I take it?"

Homura nodded.

"You wear a simple band on the ring finger of your left hand. I assume that is Kamijou Kyousuke-san's?"

"Yes, we're engaged. He's a romantic at heart, and we agreed it would be best to wait to marry until at least one of us is well-settled."

"I saw him perform with the Mitakihara Symphony Orchestra one time in Tokyo. He is quite accomplished."

"Yes. He is already principal second violin, and swears that he'll become concertmaster this year."

Silence. The elevator passed the 30th floor, still rising.

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd come back here, Akemi-san. I was certain you'd stay in Tokyo, or move to Osaka or Kyoto."

"No. I always intended to return to Mitakihara. I feel as though I have lived my entire life here."

"You were from Tokyo originally though, right?"

"Yes."

Hitomi nodded.

The elevator stopped. 60th floor. The doors opened with a ping.

The space beyond was a semi-circular lobby. Opposite the elevator a woman, perhaps a year or two older than Hitomi, sat behind a horseshoe-shaped, chrome reception desk. The woman had shoulder-length brown hair and light brown eyes, and wore a peach-colored dress. To one side of the desk was a door, and on the other a flight of stairs led up. Above the desk was a sign reading "Shigau Industries Corporate HQ," in both Japanese and English.

The woman smiled.

"Good morning, and welcome to Shigau Industries. You must be the new girls."

Hitomi and Homura glanced at each other.

"Yes," Hitomi answered, "Yes we are."

The woman nodded.

"Ok. Our Department head will be out in a moment. She's really looking forward ..."

The door opened abruptly. A middle-aged woman with short, dark pink hair, held in some semblance of order by a small bowtie-shaped clip, and pink eyes, wearing a black skirt and jacket, white blouse, brown stockings, and black high heels barged into the room.

"Shizuki Hitomi, Akemi Homura? Ok, you're right on time, nice to meet you, I am ..."

She paused as she laid eyes on Homura, but only for a moment.

"Kaname Junko, and I'm gonna be your boss. Well, kinda. Anyway, come on in. You too, Sato-san."

"Yes ma'am," the receptionist nodded.

Junko hustled Hitomi, Homura, and the other girl in through the door.

"Okay," she shouted aloud, "meeting time. C'mon everyone. Conference room. _Raus raus_!"

There were about forty people, mostly middle-aged men. There were a half dozen women, including Sato-san, and another woman about the same age. Entering last, and standing off to one side, was an older gentleman in a severe dark grey suit and red tie.

"Morning everyone!"

Junko was answered with a chorus of more-or-less enthusiastic replies.

"Meet the new girls. Akemi Homura, graduate of Tokyo Tech. She's gonna be helping the ITC boys out. Based on what I've seen, she's gonna be both smarter _and_ prettier then them!"

A cluster of 5 men laughed at this. Presumably this was the ITC department.

"And Shizuki Hitomi."

There was a mutter of surprise around the room. The old man frowned, and looked across the crowd.

"She graduated from University of Tokyo. She's a real catch, and from what I gather, she's gonna take my job from me."

There was polite laughter at this.

"OK, so they're wunderkinds and all, but they're new here, so please help 'em out and everything. ITC boys, I leave Akemi-san in your capable hands. Shizuki-san, you're with me."

For a moment, Hitomi thought the meeting was over. However, the old gentleman unfolded his arms, and walked slowly toward the front of the room. A hush went over the crowd. Junko stepped back, and motioned for Homura and Hitomi to do likewise.

"Well. I want to personally welcome you both to Shigau Industries. I am Matsuzaki Mitsuru, CEO and CFO. I fully expect the both of you to do your very best for the company. Learn swiftly, but completely."

He turned to the crowd.

"This is a very important year for us. We are expanding overseas into North America and China, and our European branch is growing as well. It is a time for us to work hard, to place the welfare and good of the company, and that of your co-workers, ahead of your own. I expect great things from each and every one of you, which will in turn drive our company forward into ever-greater success."

There was polite applause.

"Now. Since we've all arrived on time, and have been orderly and composed, I invite you all to have doughnuts and coffee, before returning to work. Please, enjoy them."

He gestured to the table along one wall, piled with pastry boxes and thermoses of coffee, tea, and juice, that everyone had been studiously trying to ignore until now.

* * *

Junko's office wasn't large. A wooden desk sat in front of a black office chair, and two metal folding chairs sat in front for guests. A thin-screen monitor sat on one corner of the desk, alongside a small projection device for a virtual keyboard. On the other corner sat a photograph of a man about Junko's with brown hair and eyes, wearing glasses, blue-jeans, and a dark grey sweater. At his side was a young teen-aged boy with messy pink hair, in jeans and a t-shirt. The surface of Junko's desk was covered with a jumble of paperwork, clips, pens, and notebooks.

Junko sat down in her chair, and motioned for Hitomi to sit as well. She glanced dubiously at the chairs, and gingerly sat down.

"Shizuki Hitomi."

"Yes ma'am."

"You're smart, from everything I've seen about you. Determined, practical, hard-working. Answer me one question."

"Okay."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're the daughter of the richest man in Mitakihara. Heir to his fortune, and presumptive heir to his business. So why are you _here_, working as a middle-management trainee?"

Hitomi shifted awkwardly.

"My father taught me that you always have to get your hands dirty. You have to go to the factory, pick up a wrench, and stand on the assembly-line alongside your workers, at least once. Metaphorically at least, if not literally. To me, I _have_ to be here. To earn my future in my father's company, I have to work somewhere where my name won't help me."

Junko chuckled.

"It's more likely to hurt you here. Yes, our companies are joined at the hips, but old man Matsuzaki resents your father for it. Did you know that?"

Hitomi nodded.

"Yes. I also know why. He wants Shigau to be its own thing. He wants to be the big boss, the powerful captain of industry in Mitakihara. He resents that, without my father's money and backing, Shigau would be a subsidiary of, say, Toyota or something by now."

"Well, you're not wrong. Shizuki corp and it's affiliates came through the '90s smelling of roses. I've heard it said more than once that your father "won" the Lost Decade. So the old man wouldn't have his job right now without him. But he sorely wishes that it were he, and not your father, in the centerfold spread of _Who's Who of Mitakihara__ City_."

"So, you believe this is a mistake?"

"Nope. Just the opposite. You're right, if you were working for your dad you would have an easier time of it, even if he did send you down to work the assembly line. The old man won't sabotage your career, but he won't powder your ass for you either. Hell, speaking of assembly lines, you might just get sent down to our Hiroshima factory for some practical management experience."

"Well. I would rather stay in Mitakihara, but if I am sent there, I will go."

Junko nodded.

"It isn't so bad actually. Spent six months there myself. Most of what you do is watch to make sure the robots and engineers don't screw things up. I once saw the entire line come to a screeching halt when some dumb machine tried to bolt SUV doors onto a hybrid chassis. Needless to say, I had to kick some butt over that one."

Hitomi smiled dutifully, but was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Anyway, enough of that. Don't repeat what we talked about to anyone. I won't, after all."

"Of course," Hitomi noted with a nod.

"The office next door to mine is gonna be yours," Junko continued. "Congrats. Gonna have you start out helping the accounting team, cause I gather you're pretty good at math and money and stuff. I'll be looking in on you of course, and helping you out, because I'm supposed to train you or something. I figure the best way is to have you go to each of the sub-departments and just kinda pitch in a bit. It's how I learned. Anyway, nice to have you here, Shizuki-san."

* * *

The break-room was small, considering the number of employees in the department. It consisted of four round tables, each with four chairs, and a microwave, refrigerator, coffee machine, water cooler, and sink. Cabinet space above the sink held community glasses and mugs.

Hitomi found, to her fortune, that Homura shared a break with her. The dark-haired girl was sipping coffee from a white mug with a faded Mitakihara High School logo on it.

"Ahh, Akemi-san. How goes your day?"

Hitomi opened the fridge and took a bottle of soda. She closed the door, and placed a coin in a box set up beside the microwave for that purpose.

"Quite well. It is fascinating to see how this company turns the theory of computer engineering into practical reality. You know, the six of us are responsible for the company's entire Japan network."

"Is that so? Well, they have me doing everything _except_ for the computer stuff. Kaname-san believes in management that knows how to _do_ things, rather than merely sitting back and watching others do them."

Homura nodded. She was about to comment further, when Sato-san and the other young woman entered the break room.

"Well, it's the new girls. Shizuki-san. Akemi-san."

"Sato Minori. How goes it," Hitomi asked.

She smiled.

"Well, thank you. I don't think you've met Kitano Takara yet, Akemi-san?"

"I have not."

Takara poured two cups of coffee, handing one to Minori, and the two sat down with Hitomi and Homura.

"Nice to meet you ladies," she said with a smile.

She was tall and slender, with long lavender hair and pale blue eyes, and wore a white blouse, grey business suit and skirt, and flat-heeled shoes.

"So what're you two gals talking about," Minori asked.

"Nothing in particular," Homura replied.

Minori nodded.

"OK. Now, I have to ask, and tell me if this is too personal. Shizuki-san. You have a ring on the ring finger of your left hand. Married?"

"Engaged. We're not ready to be married just yet, but he wanted me to have a ring. So people didn't think I was single."

Takara nodded.

"Good man."

"And now you, Akemi-san. A ring on the _middle_ finger of your left hand. Does that mean anything?"

Homura looked down at her hand. She wore a silver ring, with a smooth, purple inset stone. A strange black calligraphy was engraved into the opposite side.

"_Oi_, you don't have to answer that," Takara said.

"No, it's fine. This ring reminds me of a very special person. Someone that I cared for, very deeply. She is now ... she is no longer here."

Takara winced, but Minori's eyebrows raised.

"Sorry to hear that. But you are _single__,_ right?"

"Minori!" Takara said in surprise.

"What? Oh come on, am I supposed to be celibate, just because ... ?"

Hitomi looked nearly as shocked as Takara.

"I _am_ single," Homura replied, a trace of amusement in her voice. "However, at this time I am uninterested in relationships."

Minori sighed.

"Figures."

"Ok, we _are_ still at work ladies," Takara said sternly.

"Hey, that's a good point. You girls busy this Friday?"

Hitomi and Homura shared a glance.

"I'm not," Homura said.

"No, Kyousuke has to practice for an upcoming audition."

"_Kamijou_ Kyousuke? The violinist?"

"That's right, Kitano-san."

Takara smiled.

"He's pretty good. And if he's your beau, you're a lucky girl."

Hitomi blushed.

"Anyway, Takara and I go drinking after work on Fridays. Wanna join us? Old lady Kaname has her own friends and never joins us, and the other girls here ... yeah. We're all about the same age though, so let's hang out!"

"I would have no objections," Homura said.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Hitomi agreed.

"It's a date then," Minori said with a grin in Homura's direction.

* * *

_Author note: _Company and personal names not invented by SHAFT et co. are made up by me, and any resemblance to real companies or individuals is entirely coincidental.


	2. History

**Chapter 2**

_History._

One enters the apartment and is immediately greeted by the warm scent of tea and cookies and pies and cakes. Right now the lights are out, but when the occupants are in the main room all is brilliantly lit in soft amber effusing everything with a welcoming glow.

To the left the kitchen. The heart and soul of the place, as any visitor would tell you. Beyond, a wood floor below a brown and yellow throw-rug and a small round table holding a bronze candlestick holding a fresh, unlit white candle and a pile of loose paper and a collection of pens.

Every wall was lined with shelves. Every shelf held books and knick-knacks and souvenirs from all across Japan as well as Paris and Hawaii and San Francisco and New York.

Further to the right, past an archway leading to the kitchen, a green diamond-patterned throw rug sat beneath a triangle-shaped glass-topped coffee table surrounded by kneeling-pillows, and behind this a sofa with thick pink cushions.

In the previous room one finds a stairway leading up. The space above held dressers, bureaus, wardrobes, and a large inviting king-size bed with yellow bedsheets.

A couple lay in the bed. A shapely voluptuous blonde, in her mid twenties, with honey-amber eyes and shoulder-length hair splaying out on the pillow behind her. Draped languidly over half of her body was a smaller and younger woman of 19 or 20. Her waist-length hair was white or perhaps very pale pink or purple. Her eyes were a distinctive orange-yellow, in a cat-eye pattern. Both women were flush with a ruddy glow, panting, basking in love's aftermath.

The younger woman let out a deep breath, and giggled softly. She shifted her head, resting her cheek on the breast of the older woman and looking up into her face. The blonde smiled.

"Like the first time all over again," the younger woman sighed.

The blonde grinned.

"You say that every time."

"I mean it, Mami."

Tomoe Mami wrapped her arms around the younger woman.

"I like hearing it anyway, Nagisa."

Both women closed their eyes, content to simply lay there together in the darkness.

"Mami?"

She opened her eyes, and looked at Momoe Nagisa, whose eyes were still closed.

"Yes?"

"I have to leave tomorrow."

"I know. But you enjoy University. And Chitose-san will be there with you."

"I know. I wish you were there with me, though."

"I wish that too, but I have a school year starting soon also."

Nagisa opened her eyes.

"I know, Mami. You have a home-room this year, right?"

"I do. At Mitakihara Middle School, that is kind of a big deal."

Nagisa grinned.

"If you say so."

"I do," Mami said seriously.

"Well, we'll keep in touch."

"Of course. Email, phone calls, the chat program. And besides, it's just until summer."

"But summer is only a vacation."

"And spring was only a week. Your point?"

* * *

"You're acting as though this is the first time we're going to be apart."

Nagisa sighed.

Chitose Yuma shook her head. She was just taller than Nagisa, her body-shape somewhere between that of the other two. Her green hair was pulled into a long, loose pony-tail, tied off with a yellow ribbon. All three wore casual clothing; Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers. Nagisa and Yuma were traveling after all, and Mami had no plans beyond going back home to get a few more hours sleep. Tomorrow she would have to go in to school for meetings, and schedules, and do all of the other bureaucratic necessities before the beginning of the school term.

"Every time feels like I won't ever see you again."

"Nagisa," Yuma said somewhat sharply, "Mami-san is smart and strong. She taught both of us how to be ... well, she taught us everything, you know."

Nagisa nodded, and fiddled with a silver ring on the middle finger of her left hand. All three women wore similar rings, each with a distinctive set of glyphs engraved on the surface, and smooth round gems, that matched the colors of their eyes.

"I will be fine. I know you will be as well. Izumi-san is there after all. There's only one or two other magi... er ... women that I would trust as well as I do her."

Nagisa nodded.

"Train's coming," Yuma said.

Nagisa winced. She turned to see the high-speed train pull up to the platform. She turned and abruptly, shamelessly, threw herself into Mami's embrace.

"I will miss you!"

"Go, silly girl! I will still be here, so do not worry."

"Love you, Mami."

"Love you, Nagisa."

* * *

Mitakihara Middle School was glass and steel, twisting and writhing in uncomfortably modernistic style from its simple and tasteful grounds up to the cathedral-esque spires and bell-tower that had been unsteadily balanced on its rooftop. From moment to moment, depending on the angle of the viewer, the building shifted from imposing to disturbing.

It was a familiar building to Mami. She had attended all three years of middle school here, and when she graduated from University, this is where she began her teaching career. Now, a year later, she had been given a homeroom class.

In Mitakihara middle school, that marked your progression from an assistant teacher to a full teacher. Of course she had her own class before. After a term assisting the old History teacher, she had taken over his job upon his retirement. Two regular terms teaching, and leading a cram session before the last round of high school entrance exams had led to her being given this responsibility in record time.

The teacher's office was on the third floor, and was one of a few parts of the school that had solid walls, along with the infirmary, the Home-ec and Science labs, and some rooms in the older wing, which was now mostly dedicated to club-rooms.

She was the second one there.

"Morning, Kazuko-san."

Saotome Kazuko had been Mami's second-year homeroom teacher. The woman was in her later forties, with greying brown hair, red-rimmed glasses, and wearing her customary green button-down sweater, t-shirt, and skirt (light green, almost matching the sweater, today).

"Morning, Mami."

The blond smiled.

"And how are you doing today?"

Mami sat down at her desk, placing a satchel on the top. Kazuko eyed her with odd eagerness, without answering her question. Mami frowned, puzzled, but went through her morning routine.

She opened her desk drawer.

And jolted back with a squeak of surprise at a hissing sound, followed by an eruption of white foam from it.

Kazuko giggled.

"April Fools!"

Mami sighed.

"You got me, Kazuko-san. Now help me clean this mess."

* * *

Mami could see, before even entering her room, that she had a full class. The walls, as with most of the school, were glass, supported by gleaming chrome frames. It was very modernist, and very open. But it made more than one person feel more as though they were in an aquarium, or a cage, than a classroom.

Mami took a deep breath, and glanced down at herself. She wore a dark brown skirt-suit: waist-length jacket with brass buttons, knee-length skirt, white blouse with a yellow ribbon-tie at the collar, tan stockings, and dark brown, low-heeled shoes. She still wore her hair in a distinctive twin-drill style. She nodded once, and entered the classroom.

"Hello, students!"

"Hello Sensei," a few answered back.

Mami smiled.

"My name's Tomoe Mami, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this term."

As she spoke, she wrote her name in neat, flowing characters on the electronic whiteboard at the head of the class.

"Now, we have a few minutes before the opening ceremony. So, let's all get to know one another!"

There was a collective groan.

"Okay, let's start ... here. Will you stand up, and tell us your name, and a little about yourself?"

A boy of 12, with short dusty-pink hair and light brown eyes blushed, but dutifully stood up. Like all the boys, he wore a white high-necked uniform with black trim. He was tall for his age, and athletically built.

"Ummm. My name's Kaname Tatsuya. I'm a soccer player, and enjoy archery and drawing. Ummm. Well, it's nice to meet you all."

Mami grinned.

"Okay, thank you Kaname-san. That will do."

Tatsuya sat down with a relieved sigh, though his face remained red.

* * *

"Okay class. Now remember, just because this is the first day does not mean that you can slack off tonight. Please do your homework, and consider what club you would like to join. It's mandatory in this school to join one, or if you have enough members and a teacher as a guide, to form one."

"Yes, Tomoe-sensei."

"Thank you. Oh, Eto-san. Could you remain for a moment? I think I have a suggestion as to a club you might be interested in."

Tatsuya and Eto Ayako exchanged a glance.

Ayako was a petite girl with shoulder-length lavender hair and pale blue eyes. She wore the girls' uniform: A light tan tunic with black and red trim, high-necked white blouse with black trim and adorned with a large red bow, and green, yellow, and black tartan short skirt. She wore white knee-high socks and brown loafers.

"See you tomorrow then, Tat-kun," she said quietly.

Tatsuya's cheeks turned red, but he nodded.

"Umm. Tomorrow then, Aya ... chan."

Mami smiled, and watched as Tatsuya made a hasty, awkward retreat from the room. She then turned to Ayako,

"Well. I believe that the best club for you to join would be the Girls' History Club. Of which I am the adviser."

Ayako blinked.

"Is ... that so? I mean, I like history well enough. But, what's the difference between the History Club and the _Girls' _History Club?`"

"Well. The Girls' History Club is a very _exclusive_ club. Currently, we have only four other members. I believe that you have the ... qualifications to be our fifth member."

As she said this, Mami rose her left hand, and not-so-subtly spun the silver ring on her middle finger.

Ayako could only gasp in disbelief. She glanced down at her left hand. To the nearly-identical silver ring she wore on her middle finger.

Mami smiled.

"Well? Will you at least meet the other girls? To see if you fit in."

Ayako looked back up to Mami, an awed expression in her eyes.

"Ummm. Okay."

Wordlessly, she followed Mami down the modern, glass-and-chrome hallways, across the second-floor bridge, and past the infirmary. Then down the stairs to the older wing. The last remnant of the old Mitikara High School, which had been partly demolished 20 years before.

The walls here were opaque, solid white. The doors were light wood, framing frosted, textured windows that allowed no more than the vague shadowy suggestion of what lay beyond.

Mami finally stopped at one door, labeled Girls' History Club.

She opened the door, and gestured for Ayako to enter.

Cautiously, she stepped over the threshold. Four girls sat in the room. All looked up as soon as she entered.

"Help you," asked one tall girl with shoulder-length light blue hair.

Ayako blushed.

"Umm ..."

Then Mami entered the room. The four girls visibly relaxed. Mami closed and locked the door.

"Girls, this is Eto Ayako. She's a new first-year and, as you can tell, a magical girl."

Ayako shifted awkwardly, glancing between Mami and the four others.

The bluenette smiled faintly.

"Nice to meet you Eto-chan. I'm Minami Eriko."

"Minami-san is my trusted right-hand girl. She is our senior here, and from time to time assists me in my classes."

A girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair made a dismissive noise.

"Another way of saying she's a brown-noser stuck so far up Mami's ass she can't see straight."

Ayako's eyes went wide in shock.

"And this is Inoe Masumi, our official delinquent," Mami said with a cheery expression.

Masumi shook her head, and propped her feet up on a desk.

"Whatever. You know I'm only here for the snacks."

A girl with long pink hair and red-rimmed glasses clicked her tongue.

"You really shouldn't put your feet on the furniture."

"And this prude," Masumi said, pointing to the pink-haired girl, "is Asuka Michiru. She can totally out Mamma Mami sometimes."

Masumi grinned, clearly pleased at her word-play.

Michiru blushed, and sat down rather heavily.

The last girl was petite, with violet hair in short, tightly-braided twintails.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Eto Ayako-san. I am Mikuni Hisako."

She bowed slightly at the waist, a gesture which Ayako, awkwardly, returned.

"Okay, so much for the introductions. Normally, we would have a mid-week debriefing. Go over our tactics and battle plans, decide what works and what doesn't. Today, however, we need to show Eto-san a little attention. She is still uncertain, I believe, as to whether she wishes to join us."

The other four girls nodded.

"Of course," Hisako said with a smile.

"Why not," Masumi agreed.

"Ummm, Tomoe-sensei. Are you expecting anyone else?"

"Hmmm?"

Michiru pointed to the door. Mami turned, to see a shadowy form just beyond. As though on cue, there was a knock on the wooden frame.

"Well. I was not, no. If you will excuse me for a moment?"

Mami unlocked and opened the door.

"Yes? Can I help ... oh. Oh! Akemi Homura? Is that you!"

Homura smiled.

"You remembered me."

"How could I not? Please, come in!"

"I don't want to interrupt ..."

"Nonsense! Please, come in!"

Homura found herself all-but dragged into the room. Ayako and the other girls looked up curiously. Mami closed and re-locked the door behind her.

"Girls. This is Akemi Homura. She was one of my first magical girl apprentices, back when we were both students at this very school."

Homura glanced at Mami, then at the five younger girls.

"Ahh. I see. So you have found the other young magical girls of the school."

"We've been drafted into the Mami Army," Masumi said with a smirk.

"An experience with which I am quite familiar," Homura grinned.

The girls all introduced themselves.

"I hope you can stay for a moment. I am about to serve tea and cake."

"Regretfully, I am short on time. I had intended only to see you to let you know that I had returned."

"And so you have."

Homura nodded.

"Even so, I sincerely wish to taste your delicious cooking once more, Mami-san."

This drew a snicker from Masumi, which in turn made Ayako and Hisako blush faintly.

"The invitation's open any time."

Homura nodded, and stood. She turned to the five younger girls, bowing in their direction.

"I hope as well to see each of you again. Perhaps, we shall hunt Majuu together."

"That's why this club exists, Akemi-san. Rather than battling for territory, scrambling for grief cubes, we meet and plan and snack and play and hunt together."

Homura turned to Mami with a smile.

"Tomoe Mami, you have always made this a central goal of yours. I am glad to see that you have achieved success."

Mami nodded.

"Thank you, Akemi-san. I would like it if you considered yourself to be a member as well."

Homura nodded seriously.

"Of course. However, I must go if I wish not to be late."

"I see. Well, it was a pleasure to see you again, Akemi-san."

Mami opened the door for her. Homura favored the young magical girls with a final smile, before turning and leaving.

A silence descended on the room, before Ayako finally spoke up.

"Tomoe-sensei?"

"Yes, Eto-san."

"You told Akemi-san that the club exists, in part, to share grief cubes?"

"That is so. From long and hard-earned experience, I have learned that a magical girl needs fewer grief cubes to cleanse her soul gem than is commonly believed. Most magical girls, in fact, use far too many at any one time."

"_That is correct, Tomoe Mami. __Magical girls tend to be rather inefficient at managing their resources. __This is __the main reason that__ I have agreed to assist you in your endeavor._"

"Kyuubey!" Ayako cried out in delight. She darted over to the white alien, scooping him up in her arms, and giving him a tight, friendly embrace.

"Christ," muttered Masumi.

Michiru glared at her, but said nothing.

Mami chose to ignore Masumi entirely.

"That's right. Kyuubey has provided us with a storage device to keep excess grief cubes here, safely, for emergencies, or times when a girl may perhaps need just a few more than she is able to cull."

"_The device that I have provided is capable of isolating grief cubes from the universe. They are thus incapable of hatching into new Majuu._"

"Wow," Ayako said in surprise. "That sounds pretty useful."

"_Indeed. I theorize that even a magical girl could be so preserved, should it prove necessary._"

Mami frowned.

"Of course, this is something that I can't condone."

"Here we go," Masumi said.

"Inoe-san. You know that I believe in the Law of the Cycles."

"Pfeh. Mysticism."

"Says the magical girl," Eriko teased.

Masumi turned to her.

"Look, we die and that's it. Our soul gems flicker out. Soul's gone. Game over. Good-bye, so long, farewell. The end. There ain't no Circle of Fate or whatever that comes to rescue us."

Ayako blinked.

"I don't know what you're even talking about."

Mami sighed, and glanced at Kyuubey.

"You weren't informed what a wish entails, then?"

"Oh. Well, I kinda know. We make a wish, we become magical girls. Kyuubey gives us these pretty jewels to keep our souls in, safe and protected from harm."

Masumi laughed.

"Smoke and mirrors, kid. He rips your soul outta your body and stuffs it into a chintzy piece of costume jewelry."

"_Well. This is hardly unknown to you. __I do inform __you __of these things __when you make your contract. Why do you so often act surprised when this is__ later__ pointed out to you?_"

Ayako shrugged, and looked at the ring on her left middle finger.

"I guess I knew. But it sounds so ... I mean, is it really true, that when the soul gem goes out, we die?"

"Inoe-san believes so. So do many other magical girls. However, the girls that I learned from, back when I was a student here, told me about the Law of the Cycles. It is a force, or perhaps a god that comes when a magical girl meets her end. It is a comfort, and it eases your passage from life, into the afterlife."

"All of which is bullshit," Masumi said bitterly.

Ayako looked at her, and Masumi grinned.

"My sister was a magical girl. She died screaming and pissing herself with terror. Ain't no way she met any kinda fairy godmother or anything."

A sombre silence fell over the room.

"Well, I promised you tea and cakes. You may continue this philosophical debate while I prepare them, if you wish. Inoe-san, Minami-san, I leave that for you to decide."

* * *

It was a starless night. Heavy, sombre, lead-grey clouds hung low in the sky. A chill wind gusted from the North with the veiled threat of a late snowfall. The people in the street huddled into their coats and jackets.

"So much for spring," Kazuko muttered.

Mami chuckled, and shrugged.

"It's not that unusual for this time of year really."

They walked along the sidewalk together. The pavement beneath their feet was wet. Garish reds and blues and yellows and greens reflected off the water and the chrome and the glass. Neon and LED signs teasing and tempting them to buy: electronics, and porn, and food, and animation, and the like modern luxuriant frivolities.

They continued on until they reached an old low dingy building with a red double door and a neon sign advertising cold beer.

Mami pulled open one door, and Kazuko bowed in slightly sarcastic fashion.

It was warm and smoky inside. The miasma of decades of cigars and pipes and cigarettes cloyed the lungs and made the eyes water.

Red. Blue. Lights on either side of the bar glowed in an attempt to provide a cheery ambiance, that instead blended into a sombre purplish shadow in the middle of the room. Looming dark shapes around the room, other patrons of the place, completed the rather more disturbing than likely intended atmosphere.

At the far end of the room was the bar itself, teak-wood, with rows upon rows of bottles of various shapes and sizes and above this a dimly-viewed painting of a man stained red by the room's lighting reaching up languidly toward a vague, dark shape looming above and to one side.

One woman sat at the bar. Kazuko and Mami approached her. She turned with a smirk, and tipped a glass half full with amber fluid in their direction.

"Ladies! Welcome to heaven," she said in a cheery voice.

"Thank you Junko-san," Mami replied with a grin.

Kazuko sat on Junko's left, and Mami on her right. Junko glanced between the two.

"So? How was it?"

"It went well," Mami replied with a smile.

"Our Mami-san's growing up," Kazuko said with a smirk.

"Oh! And speaking of growing up. You'll never guess who I have in my home-room."

"Hmmm. My Tat-kun?"

Mami frowned.

"So he told you?"

"Called me on his break, yeah. He kinda gushed a little about how 'cool' it was to have Mami-san as his teacher."

Mami blushed.

"Well. I think the feeling will be mutual after all. I can tell he will be one of my top students in history, at least."

Kazuko chuckled.

"Now tell her about his girlfriend."

Junko's smile widened.

"Oh? Please, do tell!"

Mami shrugged.

"Eto Ayako? They did seem ... close. Well, she's brilliant as well. I've encouraged ..."

"Drafted," Kazuko interjected, causing Mami to frown.

"_Encouraged_," she said again, "her to join my Girls' History Club."

Junko nodded.

"That's cool. Yeah, she's a clever one. And cute as hell."

Mami and Kazuko ordered their drinks. They were quiet for a moment.

"So how's your girl doing, Mami?" Junko asked with a grin.

Mami blushed.

"Nagisa returned to University. Granted, I had to shove her onto the train ..."

Junko laughed.

"That's so cute! She called you yet?"

Mami frowned and took a drink.

"Every night since she left. And three text messages today."

Mami winced, and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket.

"Make that four."

Kazuko sighed. Junko glanced over in her direction.

"And darkness descends once more."

"I mean, I'm happy for you Mami. I really am. I just can't help it."

"Kazuko, you can't keep moping about this. The divorce is final. Get past him and find someone else."

"Easy for you to say, Mrs. Kaname Tomohisa."

Junko frowned.

"Look, I got lucky."

"Let's just drop it, ok? I don't know, maybe I should just go gay like Mami."

Mami's blush deepened.

"It's not like you can just choose, you know."

Kazuko drained her glass, and motioned for a refill.

"Anyway. I _am_ happy for you Mami. You've got a partner, and a career, and a whole life ahead of you. It's a great feeling, I bet."

Mami shrugged, and finished her drink.

"Oh, yeah! Mami, you will never guess who showed up at my office for a job today."

"Akemi Homura."

Junko deflated, and finished off her (second) drink.

"How'd you know?"

"She visited me at school today. Well, during the club meeting."

"I see. I noticed that she got back a little ... late from break. Didn't say anything cause it isn't my department."

"I thought you ran the entire division?"

Junko nodded.

"Yeah, but she's with the computer team. I don't really get all that high-tech stuff so I mostly leave 'em be. If her supervisor has an issue then I'll get involved, otherwise it's up to them."

"I see," Mami replied thoughtfully.

"Computers, huh? She never struck me as the type," Kazuko said.

"Yeah, I know. Still, she's doing a good job already, even if it's her first day."

The three turned their attention to their refilled glasses. As usually happened, the conversation became less important, and less coherent, the more the alcohol flowed. By the time Mami excused herself, Kazuko had managed to dull her depression, and Junko was just this side of wasted.

She opened the door and stepped out into the crisp night air. She blinked. Her vision was blurred. She was light-headed. The cold made her stomach churn. She was further gone than she had realized.

Mami took a deep breath, and focused herself as well as she could. She walked (or perhaps staggered would be a better word) a short distance, before she slipped into an alley nearby. She glanced around. No one was visible.

She looked down at her left hand. Her ring melted, shifted into a yellow crystalline egg, encased in a gold framework and topped with a stylized, five-petaled flower design. Looking around once more to be sure, she held it up to her forehead. It glowed briefly.

Clarity returned to Mami's vision. Her head stopped spinning. Her stomach no longer threatened to invert itself.

She sighed.

"Time for my night job."


	3. Memories

**Chapter 3**

_Memories._

_Nine years earlier._

"Okay class settle down please!"

Saotome Kazuko stood in front of the class, frowning. The morning bell had just sounded. No one in the classroom was able to keep from glancing, or staring, at the glaring gap in the second row from the window. The third and fourth desks were retracted into the floor.

Akemi Homura, her long black hair tied back by a flashy red ribbon, glanced over her right shoulder. Kamijou Kyousuke returned her gaze with a shrug. Homura frowned, and turned back to the front of the classroom.

Before Kazuko could say anything else, the door opened. The entire class turned, to see a somewhat frazzled-looking green-haired girl enter. She blushed, and glanced sheepishly at Kazuko.

"Sorry."

The teacher frowned.

"Well. Take your seat then, Shizuki Hitomi-san."

Hitomi glanced at Homura as she passed her desk. The dark-haired girl noticed that Hitomi's eyes were red. Puffy. She had been crying?

With a faint hissing and ratcheting sound, panels in the floor opened, and a desk and chair slowly emerged. It locked into place with a click, and Hitomi sat down. She took a deep breath, and tried to focus her vision on the front of the classroom. Not on the ominous gap in the row directly in front of her.

The lunch hour arrived, and the class dispersed. As Homura gathered her things together, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She glanced back to see Hitomi. Kyousuke was at her side.

"Akemi-san. Can we talk, please?"

Homura frowned.

"Of course, Shizuki-san."

She turned to Kyousuke, who nodded.

"I'll see you after lunch, Shizuki-san."

Hitomi nodded, and smiled. To Homura, the expression seemed forced.

They got their lunches, and Homura followed Hitomi up the staircase, up past the third floor, and an additional flight and a half, to the rooftop. The early summer sun was warm, and a salty humid wind blew in from the East.

Homura and Hitomi wordlessly made their way to the marble bench in the center of the roof, and sat down. For a few moments, they remained silent as they opened their bento boxes and began to eat.

"Akemi-san."

"Yes?"

"You ... you are Miki Sayaka's friend."

Homura frowned, and looked at the rice in her bento.

"Yes."

Hitomi turned to her with an expectant expression.

"Do you know what happened?"

"No. Shizuki Hitomi, no one knows precisely the details of Miki Sayaka's disappearance."

She wasn't entirely lying.

"I mean ... you and she became closer, I think. Than I was with her, I mean. Recently. I mean, she has been avoiding me. I think."

"Miki Sayaka's story is complicated. You blame yourself?"

Hitomi nodded.

"Don't."

"It is hard not too. She spoke to you about ... well, things?"

"You refer to Kamijou Kyousuke?"

"Yeah."

"I see. I would be lying if I said the issue had not caused her sadness."

Hitomi closed her eyes.

"However, there was more involved."

"Which I should have known about. If I had been a real friend, that is."

"Did you ever ask her?"

Hitomi's eyes opened. She turned to Homura.

"Well, I suppose so. In a way."

"Shizuki Hitomi. Did you or did you not go to her? Did you or did you not say that she should become bolder? Talk to him and tell him how she felt?"

Hitomi nodded.

"To what extent did she open up to you at that time?"

"Well ... not very much. She denied being interested in him. Or being bothered that I was interested in him."

"Just so. She had problems and was unwilling to discuss them with you. Or with me. I knew she had more issues than she ever brought to my attention. At first, I went to great pains to try to help her in solving them. As time went on, she became increasingly distant."

Hitomi looked confused.

"You make it sound like you knew her for longer than a month. It's only been that long, right?"

Homura chuckled bitterly.

"A month that feels, at times, like an eternity."

Hitomi sighed, and picked up a fried shrimp with her chopsticks. She looked at it for a moment.

"Do you think she's ... gone? I mean, maybe she just ran away from home. That happens all the time. She might have jumped onto a train to Tokyo, or a bus to Kazamino. The police will probably find her, and they'll bring her back and she'll apologize to everyone for making them worry and ..."

"Shizuki Hitomi. As much as it pains me to say this, I believe that you must resign yourself to never seeing Miki Sayaka again."

Hitomi placed the shrimp back down in her bento box. Suddenly she wasn't very hungry.

"I see."

"I do understand. Understand all too well what it means to lose someone."

Hitomi took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Well. Thank you for talking to me."

"Of course. Feel free to come to me any time you wish. It is not easy, nor is it something that you should deal with alone."

* * *

The club was a crowded, noisy place. A narrow door with a round window, crudely covered by silver tape, opened into a narrow space crammed with small round tables and padded metal chairs. Every chair appeared to be occupied. Every table had at least half a dozen people around it. It seemed like everyone, man and woman, was drunk, or making every best possible effort to reach that state as quickly as possible.

A triangular bar sat in the middle of the club, with an attractive young blond woman behind serving drinks with frenetic energy. A small army of hostesses, in somewhat dubious costumes, ran drinks out to patrons at the various tables.

Homura and Hitomi glanced at one another uncertainly, then looked at Takara.

The woman was smiling. She leaned in close to the other two.

"I know what you're thinking, but this place serves great drinks. I don't care much for the atmosphere either, but you take what you can get."

The other two nodded sagely, though remained unconvinced.

Takara said something else, and gestured to the other two. Somewhat reluctantly, they followed.

Behind the bar, the crowd thinned out. Along the back wall there were a series of booths. Smaller, tamer groups sat in these. Well, except for the occasional couple that were engaged in anything but tame behavior.

Minori was seated at one of these booths. When she saw the other three, she stood, and waved at them. Apparently she shouted, but her words were drowned out.

The other three joined her. It was also a round table, but unlike the others, a half-circle padded bench wrapped around it. This allowed the four girls to sit close enough to actually hear one another.

"Hey! What d'you think? Great, huh?"

Hitomi, sitting between Homura and Minori, shifted somewhat uncomfortably.

"Interesting," Homura answered.

"I know! And they have a dance floor, can you believe it!"

"Where," Hitomi asked in surprise.

"Back room."

Takara shook her head.

"I advise against going back there."

"Ahh, it's great fun though. Homura, you and me!"

Takara frowned.

"I doubt you would care for it, Akemi-san."

Minori chuckled.

"I'll make sure everyone else knows to keep their paws off you, Homura."

"Still. I believe that I shall follow Kitano-san's advice."

"Bah," Minori pouted.

A server arrived at their their table.

"What can I getcha ladies?"

"Another Cosmo for me," Minori said, pointing to her empty cocktail glass.

"Rum and cola," Takara said.

"For me also," Homura said.

Hitomi frowned.

"Miss?"

Hitomi shrugged.

"Not much of a drinker, really."

"They might have saki," Minori teased.

"I suppose that I will go with the majority: Rum and cola."

"Boring."

The waitress grinned.

"Gotcha. Be right back."

She ran off, and Hitomi looked at Minori.

"You know, Sato-san, I am _technically_ your boss now."

She winked, to indicate that she wasn't really serious.

"In training, missy, in training," Minori replied, placing her arm over Hitomi's shoulders.

Takara grinned.

"Still, better be careful Minori. This might go on your next performance review."

Minori smirked.

"I do believe that would constitute harassment of some kind, Takara."

* * *

_Eight years earlier_

Akemi Homura's home occupied an angular, two-story building of stone and brick in an old, European style, in an older neighborhood surrounded by newer apartment and commercial towers. It was one of several residence apartments, each accessible from the street.

The interior design was a conventional, if Western, one. Main door led into a small entry-way, where several pairs of shoes and a pair of brown boots sat. Just inside to the left, a flight of stairs led up. To the right, was the large, open living room with a sofa, facing a thin-screen television, and bookcases on several walls holding various volumes of literature, textbooks, and light novels.

Past an archway was a good-sized kitchen, with refrigerator, stove, microwave, rice cooker, coffee machine. A less-impressive metal folding table had been set up, with two metal folding chairs, as something of a dining room. A downstairs toilet and shower was further to the left.

The doorbell rang, and Homura answered.

"Welcome. Please, come in."

Akemi Homura smiled. She wore a purple blouse with short, puffy sleeves, a white knee-length skirt, and knee-high purple argyle socks. Her hair was, as usual, long and worn free, except for the red ribbon that kept it mostly out of her face.

Three girls were on the other side of the door. A petite but curvy girl with a green clip in her long, dusty-pink hair and wearing a light blue summer-dress; A taller girl with brown hair pulled into two short pigtails and wearing jean-shorts and a white t-shirt; and Shizuki Hitomi. Hitomi wore a light green sleeveless dress with a wide white belt at her waist, white stockings, and white flat-heeled shoes.

"Thanks for inviting us, Akemi-chan!"

Homura grinned at the petite girl's enthusiasm.

"Wow! This is such a nice place. Hey, what's up here?"

A small barrier had been placed in front of the stairs.

"Apologies, Hotaru-san. My parents have stated that the upstairs is off-limits to us tonight."

Hitomi gave Homura a curious glance, but didn't say anything.

"That's too bad," the brunette said.

"Oh wow, look at this TV!"

Hotaru darted over to it.

"Well. I have futons ready for all of us. And while my parents are not home, I have been given free reign in the kitchen. Dinner will, in fact, be ready shortly."

"Hey, Akemi-chan," Hotaru called out, "I'm gonna turn on your PX-One, okay?"

Homura grinned.

"Help yourself."

"C'mon Hiro-san, let's play something."

The brunette giggled.

"Okay, Hotaru-chan."

"Do you need any help with dinner," Hitomi asked.

"Well. It's mostly finished, but if you like."

Hitomi followed Homura into the kitchen. Four bowls sat beside a rice cooker. Beside the stove, plates held various kinds of food: fried dumplings, Teriyaki chicken, Tempura shrimp, and pancakes. Four bowls of miso soup sat nearby.

"My. This is surprising, Homura-san. I didn't think you could cook."

Homura shrugged.

"I had some help from a friend, actually."

Hitomi nodded, and started dishing out rice, while Homura pulled down four serving trays, spoons, and chopsticks.

"So, how are you doing Hitomi?"

"I am well, thank you Homura-san."

"And Kamijou-kun?"

Hitomi blushed lightly.

"Busy. Between school, and studying for high school entrance exams, and recitals, and practice. Well, I hardly see him any more, except at school."

Homura nodded.

"I did fear that. Then again, your schedule is hardly light."

"Actually my father has said that I can cut down on my other lessons. I mean, I enjoy tea ceremony and dance, but I'm not going to be a geisha after all. There are more practical things to study with high school coming up."

"And our plan?"

"Kyousuke thinks it's a good idea."

"Then we must schedule a time ..."

" 'scuse me?"

"Ahh. Yes, Hotaru-san?"

"I need to ... ummm, that is ..."

"Girls' room?"

Hotaru blushed and nodded.

"This way."

"Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine," Hitomi said.

Hitomi smiled, and started to place plates and bowls on the serving trays. In a few moments, Homura returned.

"So he agrees, then? We will all try for New Mitakihara High School?"

"Yes. As we were saying, we need to get together to study. Also, Saotome-sensei is leading a cram-session the week before the exam."

"Good. Then we shall attend that as well."

/-\

Homura sat on her futon. Silently, she watched over the other three as they slept. Hotaru, in pink pajamas, Hiro in red, and Hitomi in green. She looked down at her left hand. At the ring on her middle finger. The purple oval inset stone was glowing softly.

She frowned.

"Can't sleep?"

Homura nearly jumped.

"Hitomi?"

The greenette sat up and yawned.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay?"

Homura forced the ring to stop glowing. She hoped that Hitomi hadn't noticed.

"Yes. I'm just not used to having guests."

Hitomi nodded, and looked at the other two.

"I was surprised that you invited us over."

"Well. Hotaru-san and Hiro-san invited me out to coffee once, and I refused. It only seemed right that I make it up to them somehow. And I thought you might enjoy something like this as well."

Hitomi nodded.

"Yes. I haven't had a sleep-over since Miki ..."

Hitomi's voice trailed off.

"Oh. Sorry for reminding you, then."

"No. It's okay. Actually, we're a little old for this, but I accepted because we're friends."

Homura nodded.

"I've never hosted a sleep-over. In fact, the last time I was at one was when I was 9. Just before my mother passed on actually."

Hitomi winced.

"Zero for two, then."

Homura chuckled.

"I guess we have some bad memories to overcome."

They grew silent. Watching the other two sleep.

Hotaru mumbled something, then giggled softly.

Hitomi smiled.

"Even in her sleep, she's like that."

"Cute," Homura whispered.

Hitomi nodded.

"Just what I was thinking."

* * *

Hitomi sipped her drink, an orange-amber fluid in a flaring cocktail glass. After finishing her rum and cola, she had become somewhat more adventurous and had ordered an English Sidecar.

At her side, Minori was finishing off her third Cosmopolitan. Two empty martini glasses, and two empty shot-glasses ("Little whisky between each Cosmo keeps me honest," she had said, to Hitomi's bafflement) sat in front of her.

Homura and Takara had gone off to use the facilities.

"So, Hitomi."

Minori leaned in close, her arm over Hitomi's shoulders.

"Yes, Sato-san?"

"Pfeh. First names, please? We're getting sloshed together. First names, Hitomi. We can be formal at work."

"Umm. Minori-san, then?"

"Close enough. So, you and Homura. Childhood friends, yeah?"

"We attended middle and high school together."

Minori nodded.

"And you two aren't together?"

"No, of course not. I am engaged after all."

Minori giggled.

"I've heard that one before ya know."

"Well, it is true."

"Okay. So what's she like?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're her friend. C'mon, I need weak points that I can attack."

"Well. I am afraid that I cannot help you with that. It has been some time since we've conversed at any length. Besides, if you are interested in her, it would perhaps be best to speak to Akemi-san directly."

Minori blinked.

"Hmmm. Guess I could do that. I mean, she _is_ gay, right?"

Hitomi was feeling distinctly uncomfortable at this point.

"Again, it would be best of you to talk to her directly."

The waitress chose that moment to stop by.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"Yeah. Same as before."

The waitress nodded.

"Shot of whisky, and a Cosmopolitan."

"That's the ticket."

"Ma'am?"

Hitomi smiled, and pointed at her glass.

"Still working on mine."

"Okay then."

She left, and Minori shook her head.

"Hitomi. You gotta learn to relax. I mean, moving from highballs to cocktails is a start, but you gotta just kinda chill and drink and go with it."

"I am having an enjoyable evening," Hitomi replied. It really wasn't a lie.

"Well, you gotta ... hey, they're back!"

Homura and Takara returned, slipping back into the booth. Minori released Hitomi's shoulders, and sat up straight.

"Miss us," Takara asked with a grin.

"We were just about to get crazy when you two had to ruin it," Minori replied, winking.

Hitomi blushed.

"I don't think I have ever seen Shizuki-san go 'crazy'," Homura replied, placing her arm over Hitomi's shoulders.

Hitomi scooted closer to Homura, and nodded.

"Indeed not," she said in a mock-indignant tone.

"Oh c'mon you two. High school. Nothing? Seriously?"

"I do not know what you're getting at, Sato-san," Homura said.

"What is it with all this formality? My name's Minori for heaven's ..."

The waitress returned with Minori's fourth cocktail, and third whisky.

"Anything for you ladies?"

"Another rum and coke for me," Takara said.

"Nothing more for me," was Homura's answer.

"Gotcha."

"Say," Minori said after the waitress left.

"Hmm?"

"Who's paying for this mess, anyway?"

Takara shrugged.

"Good question. Ladies?"

Hitomi looked shocked, and turned to Homura.

But Minori spoiled the moment by bursting out laughing.

"Oh god ... that was priceless!"

She downed her shot.

Takara shook her head.

"Sorry Shizuki-san, but your reaction was pretty funny."

* * *

_Five years earlier_

"_Attention please. __Attention__ please. Will all passengers kindly return to your seats and fasten your safety belts. We are about to make our final approach to N__aha__ Airport. Message repeats in English ..._"

Homura opened her eyes. She felt a soft pressure on her right shoulder. Soft, silky, if somewhat unkempt, hair tickled her neck and her right earlobe. She glanced to her right, and couldn't suppress a smile.

Hitomi's head rested on Homura's shoulder. The greenette mumbled something, and turned to face Homura. She blushed lightly, and quickly sat up.

"Sorry."

"It is okay," Homura replied with amusement.

"Did I hear that we're almost there, Homura-san?"

The dark-haired girl nodded.

"Yes, Hitomi. We will be landing shortly."

Hitomi sighed.

"Remember our promise?" Homura said somewhat sharply.

"I know. To have fun and enjoy ourselves, even if Kyousuke couldn't make it."

"Yes. This is our senior class trip. A last chance at fun before beginning to study for entrance exams."

"I just wish he were here too."

Homura nodded.

"I admit, it will be strange without him. We all agreed, all three of us, that we wouldn't let that stop us."

"Well. And besides. He and I are certain to see one another later, right? You and I ... well, I know we've promised to stay in touch, but once we go off to University ..."

Homura shrugged.

"That won't change anything. We'll both be in Tokyo after all."

Hitomi laughed.

"If all goes well, sure. And that's not really any better than saying 'we'll both be in Japan,' you know."

/-\

"Homura-san?"

Homura turned onto her side and opened her eyes. The hotel room was dark. She could just barely see Hitomi, also on her side, in the other bed.

"Yes, Hitomi?"

Hitomi sighed.

"Can't sleep. Can't stop thinking."

Homura frowned. She could only just see the other girl's eyes, and was unable to read her expression.

"About the school trip?"

"No. I mean, it's been five years, and yet ..."

"Oh. Miki Sayaka?"

There was a somewhat awkward silence.

"Yeah."

Homura didn't say anything.

"Homura-san, I know she's gone. It's been too long. I just can't stop from thinking. I mean, she would be with us today. Here, in Okinawa, with us. You know that, right?"

"Perhaps."

"And I never stopped blaming myself."

"That's pointless."

"I never told you."

"What?"

"You remember the day I was late to school? When we talked on the rooftop?"

"Yes."

"I was late because ... because I went to that one bridge. With the observation deck. The one they tried to seal off. Because of all the people that ..."

Her voice trailed off.

"Hitomi?"

"I stood there for a while, looking down at the water. Just looking. I slipped off my shoes, and I set my bag down. I even put one foot up on the rail. I thought ... well, I remembered that you were her friend. I decided ... well, that I would talk to you first. I mean, I actually told myself that I would come back. That I _would_ jump. If you hadn't listened. Or if you had agreed that it was my fault, or ... I don't know."

Silence.

"Homura-san?"

"I am glad you did not jump."

"Kyousuke told me the same thing. Yes, I told him too. The same thing that I just told you, basically."

Silence once again.

"So ... Homura-san, I just want to thank you."

"You have no need of thanking me. Your friendship has been thanks enough."

"Really?"

Homura smiled.

"Of course."

"Then I _do_ have reason to thank you."

/-\

A deep blue sky arched above, a slowly undulating azure plane of water beneath, and the solid wood and steel and fiberglass of a small motor-vessel that bobbed gently in the waves. At the prow stood two girls. Raven-dark hair and violet eyes. Moss-green hair and emerald eyes. They wore skin-tight suits of blue and grey and red. Water rolled down their faces, and their suits. It ran in little rivulets from their hair, down their backs.

Akemi Homura, the dark-haired girl, closed her eyes and raised her face toward the sun.

"Beautiful. Wasn't it?"

Shizuki Hitomi, the green-haired girl, nodded.

"It was. It _is_."

Homura sighed.

"So many fish," Hitomi continued, with a smile.

"Many beautiful colors. As though a painting had come to life."

"Yes. Yes, exactly like that."

"Amazing, isn't it? Architecture. History. Nature. So much beauty."

"And we have to return home tomorrow."

"Well, of course. We knew it wouldn't last. Okinawa will still be here though. We can return one day."

"All three of us next time," Hitomi asserted.

"We're starting up now," called a voice from the back of the vessel.

Both girls looked back over their shoulders. A man with greying red hair nodded in their direction.

"Just letting you know. Don't want you to fall or anything."

"Thank you," Hitomi replied with a smile.

Homura chuckled, and turned her gaze back on the sea in front of them. She gripped the railing in front of her, and Hitomi did the same.

The engine coughed to life, and the boat jerked forward.

Hitomi gasped. She slipped despite herself. Before she could fall she felt Homura's arm wrap around her waist. Holding her up.

Hitomi turned to thank Homura. She couldn't find the words. She just nodded, her face red. She tightened her grip on the railing in front of her, and turned away from Homura's gaze.

* * *

"Are you certain that you'll be okay?"

Takara and Minori looked unsteady on their feet. They were leaning against one another, and to Hitomi's eyes, it looked as though any effort to move at all would send both sprawling to the pavement.

Takara nodded.

"Yeah. I'm soberer than I look. We do this every Friday. We'll be fine."

Hitomi was dubious.

"Call us if you need assistance," Homura offered.

"I needjer help," Minori slurred, with a smirk.

Takara rolled her eyes.

"C'mon. Time to go home."

"Yeah yeah. Next week then."

Minori waved to the other two.

Homura and Hitomi watched as they walked (staggered) off, arm in arm.

"I'll see you home, Shizuki-san," Homura offered, after a moment.

Hitomi smiled.

"Thank you, Akemi-san."

They walked in silence for a while.

"We haven't gotten a chance to talk," Hitomi observed.

Homura glanced in her direction.

"Not properly," Hitomi continued. "Not like we used to."

"That is true. We must maintain a certain level of distance at work."

Hitomi grinned.

"Even if Sato-san thinks otherwise."

Homura shook her head.

"Sato Minori is a nice enough girl, if prone to ... inappropriate behavior from time to time."

They continued in silence.

"So, Akemi-san?"

"Call me Homura. We _are_ friends, even after so long."

"Homura-san, then."

"Yes, Hitomi?"

"What was it like? University I mean."

"No different from your experience, I am certain."

"No, I was never a _single_ girl in University."

"Oh, I see."

"I mean, I remember that you dated that redhead for a time ..."

"Sakura Kyouko?"

"She hated me."

"She blamed you for Miki Sayaka's death."

"I did too, back then. But I wonder, what was it like for you, in University?"

"Well. I promised myself, after Kyouko left, that I would remain true to Madoka's memory."

Hitomi nodded.

"That was her name. I forgot, until just now."

"Well, it's not like she came up often in our conversations."

"No. So you didn't date, all through University?"

Homura blushed lightly.

"Some of my friends coerced me into attending a mixer one time."

Hitomi's eyes went wide.

"No?! Did you meet anyone?"

Homura shrugged.

"Well. He was a very nice, sweet boy. We conversed for some time at the party. He, like I, was not there of his own will."

"And?"

"He invited me back to his apartment after the party. I politely declined his invitation. However, I did accept an invitation to dinner and a movie the following weekend."

Hitomi smiled.

"Did anything come of that?"

"No. He was polite. A true gentleman. Neither pushy nor aggressive. He did invite me, once again, back to his apartment. Again I declined. I also declined his invitation for a second date."

"Oh. That's too bad."

"Perhaps for him."

Hitomi shrugged.

"So was that it?"

"No. In my third year, I met a very nice girl. She was an exchange student. A German girl. That relationship lasted, in fact, until she returned home."

Homura blinked, and glanced away from Hitomi.

"What?"

"She wanted to take me back to Munich with her."

"Oh."

"She said I would be able to transfer to University there. That my studies could continue uninterrupted. That I'd have no problems finding a job in Germany, or anywhere else in Europe."

"And you said no."

"She told me it would be good to leave Japan. To forget about what I had lost. To leave behind the bitter memories. But I said no. I could not leave Japan."

"That is sad."

Homura nodded.

"And now you are all alone?"

Homura turned back to Hitomi with a smile.

"No, of course not. Mitakihara City is my home. I have many friends here, yourself included. It is the one place in the world that I feel truly alive. It is a place that she - Madoka, you understand - she loved so dearly."

Hitomi frowned.

"I feel like I should have known that girl."

"Yes. You should have. But you did not."

The silence returned.

* * *

_Four years earlier_

_And I will never forget the wonderful things I learned from you  
Now is the time to say farewell with an eternally grateful heart._

They held onto one another tightly. Their eyes were closed. Both were trying to keep from crying. It wasn't entirely working.

"Hey," Homura said in an attempt at optimism. "Hey. We still have a week, right?"

Hitomi nodded, and a sob escaped her lips.

"We'll hang out."

"Right," Homura said.

"And call each other sometime. I mean, Tokyo's a tiny, tiny place when you consider the trains."

Homura laughed.

"It is."

They didn't break the embrace.

"Ladies?"

They both glanced over to Kyousuke. He was blinking back tears himself. Hitomi made a sound somewhere between a giggle and a sob.

"Sorry," she said.

"No. Don't be. I understand."

"Yet you aren't crying in Nakazawa's arms," Homura teased.

Kyousuke blushed, and Hitomi laughed.

Hitomi pulled back, and looked into Homura's eyes. For a moment. Before tightening their embrace one last time.

"I will miss you," she said quietly.

"And I you," Homura agreed.

* * *

They stood in front of the gate to Hitomi's apartment complex.

"Well. I suppose it is time to say good-night, Shizuki Hitomi."

Hitomi nodded.

"Yes."

They remained in position.

"Well."

"Do you want to come in, Homura-san? I can offer you something to drink, or ..."

"No. I am fine."

"I feel bad, though."

"Don't. Mitakihara holds many bitter memories, yes. For both of us. I think it will be fine. There are, I believe, many more sweet memories."

Hitomi nodded.

"Yes. I did meet Kyousuke here after all."

Silence.

Hitomi blinked, and leaned back against the wall behind her.

"Sorry. My head's starting to spin a little."

"I think that we are both a little more intoxicated than we thought."

Hitomi smiled.

"Will you be safe getting home?"

"Of course."

"I have room if you need ..."

"No. No, that is fine."

They remained in place.

"Well. I suppose that I'll see you on Monday then, Akemi Homura."

"Yes. Have a good evening. And a good week-end, Shizuki Hitomi."

They stood there for just another moment.

Then, Homura turned on her heel, and made a sweeping motion with her hand against her hair. It ended up looking vaguely absurd, and Hitomi giggled.

Homura glanced back at her sheepishly.

"It used to look cooler when you did that," Hitomi said with a grin.

Homura shrugged.

"Maybe I'll let it grow out again, just for that."

Hitomi smiled widely.

"I'm glad you are back, Akemi Homura-san."

Homura returned the smile.

"Good-night, Hitomi."

"Good-night. Homura."

* * *

_Author note_: Quoted lyrics (translated) from Aogeba Tōtoshi, a Japanese graduation song.


End file.
